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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Lakeport City Council to discuss grant revision, pension issues
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council will meet this week to discuss grant revisions and an approach to dealing with unfunded pension obligations.
The council will hold a closed session beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Council, 225 Park St., to discuss ongoing litigation against the county of Lake and former Sheriff Frank Rivero over access to law enforcement records, and a conference with legal counsel regarding the appeal of Verizon Wireless' application for a cell phone tower at 1875 N. High St.
The council will begin public session at 6 p.m.
At the start of the meeting, the council will present a certificate of appreciation from the city to Boy Scout Troop No. 42 for its service to the community by taking on the responsibility of raising the flags on Main Street in the city on national days of remembrance.
Lake County Public Works Director Scott De Leon will give a presentation on the groundwater service area.
Also on Tuesday, the council will hold a public hearing on solid waste rates, fees and charges, and adopt the proposed resolution to establish initial rates under a new franchise agreement with Lakeport Disposal for mandatory solid waste collection.
City Manager Margaret Silveira will present a revision to the park project funded by the California Department of Housing and Community Development for Housing Related Parks Grant for the water pipeline project to a new bathroom at the Fifth Street boat ramp. The council will consider directing staff to prepare the necessary documentation with HCD to revise the park project from the water pipeline to the new bathroom at the Fifth Street boat ramp.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram will take to the council a request to initiate proceedings and set a public hearing for the consideration of three separate minor amendments and revisions to the Lakeport Municipal Code relating to expedited permitting procedures for small residential rooftop solar systems; imposing additional licensing fees on fortunetellers; and to allow for the issuance of special parking permits for residential units in the central business district without access to on-site parking.
In other news, Finance Director Dan Buffalo will introduce a proposed ordinance forming the Lakeport Industrial Authority for a first reading, with a public hearing to be set on Oct. 6.
Buffalo also will present a proposed resolution to authorize him and Silveira to work with the financing team to develop a final asset mix to collateralize, sign all documents related to the transaction and execute the prepayment of the designated portion of the the city's unfunded actuarial accrued liability obligations.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the regular Lakeport City Council meeting of Sept. 1; warrant register from Sept. 3; an application for the Oct. 30 Halloween parade; and a review and approval of the recognized obligation payment schedule for the city's redevelopment successor agency for the period of Jan. 1 to June 30, 2016.
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Lakeport City Council to honor longtime city clerk at special meeting
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A special meeting of the Lakeport City Council will be held on Monday evening to honor a long-serving city official.
City Clerk Janel Chapman will be the honoree at the meeting, which will take place beginning at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The council will present Chapman with a proclamation honoring her years of dedicated service and contributions to the city.
Chapman has served the city as clerk for many years and also teaches at Mendocino College.
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Lake County Emergency Operations Center activated in response to Valley fire
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been activated in response to the Valley fire that started in the Cobb Mountain area on Saturday afternoon.
The county of Lake is still under a declaration of local emergency that was issued on July 31 for the Rocky fire, officials said.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors extended the emergency on Sept. 1 to cover all fires in Lake County.
Lake County Office of Emergency Services reported that shelters have been opened at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church at 5340 3rd St. in Kelseyville and at the Napa County Fairgrounds at 1435 N Oak St, Calistoga.
Lake Evacuation and Animal Protection, or LEAP, has been activated for animal evacuations. Lake County Animal Care and Control is being used as a staging area, 4949 Helbush Drive next to the Lake County Jail.
Animal control phones are open until further notice at 707-263-0278.
The Lake County Office of Emergency Services has a prerecorded information line set up at 707-263-2360, and will be posting the most up-to-date information on the Lake County OES Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LakeCountyOES and Twitter page at https://twitter.com/lakecountyoes .
Residents will be notified of evacuations by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office through a variety of ways, including CityWatch 911 reverse telephonic messaging, personal door-to-door notification, and Nixle Alerts.
Residents can sign up for CityWatch at http://www.lakesheriff.com/ by choosing “Public Resources” and selecting “Emergency Notification”s from the menu.
Sign up for Nixle Alerts from the Lake County CA Sheriff’s Department at https://local.nixle.com/lake-county-ca-sheriffs-department/ or text your zip code to 888777 for mobile alerts.
MATH members discuss roads, projects, Dollar General proposal
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Road safety, town beautification projects and a proposal for a Dollar General store were topics of discussion at the Middletown Area Town Hall this week.
MATH held its regular meeting, which lasted an hour and a half, at the Middletown Library on Thursday evening.
At the meeting's start, Chair Fletcher Thornton gave an update on safety issues on Big Canyon Road and Santa Clara Road, which had been a topic of discussion at the August meeting.
In August, community members attending the MATH meeting had raised issues with speeding, the safety of the roadways and concerns about the potential for accidents on the two roads.
Thornton himself had been particularly concerned about Big Canyon Road, which passes along the Middletown Unified School District campus. He surmised that people heading to nearby Harbin Hot Springs were partially responsible for the heavy volume of traffic.
At Thornton's request, the county of Lake began to monitor the areas, putting out traffic measuring strips for a two-week period on both streets. The Lake County Public Works Department then provided Thornton with reports generated by that study.
In giving the group a synopsis, Thornton said speeds on Big Canyon Road averaged 33 miles per hour, with peak speeds of 55 miles per hour recorded in front of the school on a Friday. He said Sunday nights also were bad times based on speeds.
He reiterated his belief that Harbin visitors may be the cause of the traffic, but added of the study's conclusion, “It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.”
As for Santa Clara Road, which runs alongside the Middletown Central Park Association's arena, speeds on that road averaged between 28 and 44 miles per hour, with peaks of 55 miles per hour, he said.
Margaret Greenley, who lives on Santa Clara, pointed out that the traffic study strips on the street were placed in such a way that they didn't record some of the traffic in key areas, such as coming off of Lake Street.
Thornton said that as for solutions, what happens on Big Canyon Road largely will be determined by what the school district can do, adding he hopes the district will put up a sign to urge drivers to slow down.
In other business, Marlene Elder, who helped organize the effort to begin holding monthly free family movies in Middletown Square Park during the summer, updated the group on the next movie, “Bark Ranger,” to be held on Saturday evening. It's the last movie of the summer season.
Elder also brought to the group new projects to consider, including the installation of decorative arches for Middletown Square Park's entrances, which she said can be used for seasonal and event decorations; a marquee to announce events at the park, as well as the nearby library and senior center; and the introduction of a once-a-month summertime game night in the park.
MATH members supported moving forward on exploring the three proposals, and Elder said she was willing to do the legwork to see what community groups – including churches – might be interested in taking turns hosting the game night events starting next year.
“I absolutely refuse to say it won't work,” Thornton said of the game night proposal.
He said Elder has proven him wrong too many times, with one of those times being the establishment of the monthly summer movie night, which he lauded during the meeting.
Thornton said he also had run the game night idea by the local charter school, which was interested in participating.
“I think it's worthwhile,” he said of the idea.
Dollar General considerations
The remainder of the meeting was spent largely on an update and a discussion about a proposal to locate a Dollar General store in Middletown.
Texas-based Cross Development, which builds stores for the Tennessee-based “small box” retailer, wants to construct a 9,100-square-foot Dollar General store at 20900 S. Highway 29.
Cross Development also submitted an application for a store on Main Street in Kelseyville, which the Lake County Planning Commission denied.
The Board of Supervisors late last month turned down Cross Development's appeal of the planning commission decision regarding the Kelseyville store proposal, with key issues revolving around design aesthetics and safety concerning traffic volumes in the area, which is near a school.
Thornton said he attended the Board of Supervisors meeting on the appeal, noting, “There was the normal emotional response, 'I don't like Dollar General, no matter what.'”
However, beyond that, he said other people brought up real issues about location and products the store sells, including alcohol and cigarette sales.
In June, MATH members voted to form a committee to study the Dollar General proposal, with Monica Rosenthal chairing the group.
On Thursday night, Rosenthal gave a synopsis of the Board of Supervisors' hearing on the Kelseyville store appeal, noting the Kelseyville community was very organized and prepared, and had a clear voice.
She said the committee hasn't met since the August MATH meeting took place, but has reached consensus via email discussions to suggest that the MATH Board respond to a request from the Community Development Department to give input on the project proposal to date, which as far as Rosenthal knew on Thursday didn't include a completed application to county planners.
Rosenthal said the committee recommends a negative declaration rather than an environmental impact report be completed, and that the project comply with the Middletown Area Plan.
At the August meeting, Thornton stated that he believed that a plan for MATH to take a vote on whether or not to endorse the project may be premature, and he raised that concern again on Thursday.
He said he believed MATH should decide whether or not they want something in their down, adding, “The question is, are we ready to do that?”
Thornton said he believed doing so was premature because Cross Development hasn't submitted final project plans yet. “I don't know what they want to do.”
Joe Sullivan, a MATH member and Lake County planning commissioner, said he had spoken to Community Development Director Rick Coel, who indicated that Cross Development intended to move forward with submitting an application.
One attendee at the Thursday meeting, Gregg Van Oss, said he believed that some people who support bringing Dollar General to town aren't being represented because they don't attend the meetings. He said many people don't have time to participate.
Thornton said he has passed fliers around the town and worked on outreach, and doesn't buy the argument that people don't have time to attend community meetings. “If it's important, you make time.”
Another MATH Board member, Ken Gonzales, said MATH Board members' phone numbers are on the widely circulated agendas, and none of them have received phone calls from people who want the store.
Rosenthal pointed out that Middletown differs from Kelseyville in a key aspect when it comes to the Dollar General proposal. “We have two different voices on this particular project.”
She said Middletown isn't going to come together as neatly as Kelseyville did. However, “We as a community, we need to take a look at what we want this town to look at.”
If it isn't Dollar General, it could be another project down the line that poses similar issues, she said.
Thornton said he's not been happy with the proposal's design or location so far, adding his big concern is that the town will end up with something that will detract from its look.
Gonzales said he was in Santa Fe for a visit two weeks ago. While that city has malls with stores like Dollar General, he said such stores are kept out of the city's historic downtown. He suggested Middletown could take a similar approach.
Thornton asked the group if they should take a vote on the proposal, and members agreed they weren't yet ready to do so.
At one point, Van Oss said he wanted MATH to decide not to take a stand on the project. Thornton said they were not going to do that.
Rosenthal said both the Lake County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors want community input, but valid arguments are needed in addressing the project. Thornton said that's why he formed the committee – so MATH would know what valid arguments existed.
Elder asked if the group would get to see the plans. Thornton said yes; once plans are final and submitted, MATH will meet to discuss them so it can give the planning commission its input.
Sullivan emphasized that the entire process is transparent and open to the public.
Rosenthal noted that MATH has some power, “And it's up to us if we decide to use it or not.”
As the meeting wrapped up, Thornton informed members that new Middletown Unified School District Superintendent Catherine Stone will attend the October MATH meeting, with Sen. Mike McGuire scheduled to be the special guest at the meeting in November.
Email Elizabeth Larson at